Following up a massive No. 1 hit is never an easy task. But Rupert Holmes knew he had it covered, because he thought the follow-up was the surer shot in the first place. While “Him” didn’t scale quite the same heights as “Escape (The Pina Colada Song),” its Top-10 status in 1980 proved Holmes was on the right track.
What is the song about? How did it fit into the album Holmes was compiling? And how did it end up slotting behind that runaway No. 1 hit? Here is the story of “Him,” which has overcome its secondary status to become a Yacht Rock staple.
Rupert’s Road
In the early days of his career, Rupert Holmes handled myriad different roles in the music business. And he was content to live that life, even if it meant he wouldn’t be the guy out in front in the spotlight.
He was enjoying success as a songwriter-for-hire in the early ‘70s. Some big names covered his work. And he also scored an unlikely hit single with “Timothy,” which, when recorded by The Buoys in 1970, hit the U.S. Top 20. The song was so catchy that not too many people realized it was about an incidence of cannibalism.
Things changed for Holmes as the decade wore on, and he began to get frustrated that the arrangements of his original songs covered by others didn’t maximize the potential of those songs. He decided to go for it as a singer/songwriter, and, starting in 1974, he began churning out albums under his own name, which started to pick up momentum with fans and critics.
He envisioned his 1979 album Partners in Crime as having a loose theme about the travails of modern romance. As such, “Him,” a song he wrote in the process of making the album, stood out as an obvious choice for a first single. But then fate intervened in the form of the biggest song of Holmes’ career.
“Escape (The Pina Colada Song)” was a last-minute addition to Partners in Crime, added so the album could have a little variety. The record company fell in love with it and pushed it as the first single, leaving “Him” to wait its turn. And you can’t blame them for the choice, considering how well “Escape” managed to do.
In fact, one wonders if “Him” would have been able to break out in the same way if it had been the lead single. As it was, it showed a different, more serious side of Holmes to audiences who had only learned of him through “Escape.” And it earned him another big hit when it soared to No. 6 in 1980.
What is the Meaning of “Him”?
“Him” tells the story of a guy who finds himself in a love triangle he wants to be reduced to a straight line connecting him to his lover. Unfortunately, the titular character stands in the way, his presence felt in the little details: Over by the window, there’s a pack of cigarettes / Not my brand, you understand / Sometimes the girl forgets.
The narrator is baffled by the temerity she shows in believing he’d be OK with this: Don’t know why she thought that I / Would say what’s mine is his. It all comes down to finding the proper equation, as the final verse explains: It’s goodbye to he and I / And back to me and her / Without him.
Rupert Holmes soon left behind the singer/songwriter game to spread his artistic wings, which included writing musicals, creating television shows, and many more endeavors. But he had the pop music world by the tail in 1979 and 1980, with not one, but two songs that have entered the Yacht Rock pantheon. “Escape” opened the door, and “Him” burst through it.
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Photo by Broadway World/Shutterstock
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